OCHA Flash Update Iraq Crisis – Anbar Displacement No. 6 | 26 April 2015

The Government reports just over 19,000 families (about 114,000 people) have been displaced from Ramadi District since the beginning of the crisis. Humanitarian partners put the figure at about 12,400 families, spread across Anbar, Baghdad, Babylon, Erbil, Diyala, Kerbala, Najaf, Sulaymaniyah and Wassit governorates.

ISIL took partial control of the Tharthar dam in Anbar Governorate and the military barracks guarding it, prompting concern over the possibility of deliberate flooding by ISIL as witnessed in Abu Ghraib District in 2014.

The maternity hospital and general hospital in Ramadi remains out of service. The latter is currently controlled by ISF and is being used as a military base. Two primary health care centres (PHCC) in Ramadi (Al Tal and Al Malaab) have resumed partial services.

The Anbar Provincial Council reported continued returns to Ramadi City over the last few days.

According to field reports, 109 families (567 individuals) from Ramadi fled to Darbandikhan Sub-District (Khanaqin District in Diyala Governorate). Most are living in rented houses or with relatives.

The Wassit Provincial Council voted to receive IDPs from Anbar with the required sponsorship, with the exception of males aged 18-50. Wassit local authorities are responsible to accommodate the IDPs, according to reports.

Heavy fighting occurred over the weekend in northern Fallujah (Al Karma region) between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and Iraqi Security Forces (ISF). The commander of the 1st Division (Hassan Abbas) and a brigade commander were reportedly killed. There are reports a significant number of ISF soldiers were killed. A further escalation of fighting could trigger large-scale displacement out of Falluja.

Due to an ISIL attack in the area of Trebil, close to the frontier with Jordan, borders with Jordan and Syria were closed as a precautionary measure. This could have severe food insecurity implications, particularly for west Anbar where supplies originate from Jordan. In al-Baghdadi Sub-district and Haditha District, where there are already food shortages, this could be critical.